Showing posts with label Sarah. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sarah. Show all posts

Friday, January 15, 2016

Freshman Football Awards Dinner

In early January, the South County football program had its annual end-of-season banquet to celebrate the accomplishments of the year, including the varsity going 10-0 in the regular season and making it to the state semifinal before bowing out.

After the dinner, the various squads went to different places to receive their team awards. The freshmen went to the auditorium, where the coaches took turns giving certificates and remarks to each of the players in their squads.

When it came time for the defensive backs coach to present, he had some very warm and kind words about the first girl he'd ever had the chance to coach on a football squad. Here's what he had to say, and Sarah receiving her certificate from the head coach and the three assistants. She later went on to receive a Scholar Athlete certificate, for being on the team and maintaining a 3.5 GPA in the first quarter.

I can't say how everybody else felt, but it was amazing to me to see, after the parade of boys in their ties and sweaters and khakis, this beautiful young lady rise in her flowing blue dress and walk confidently to the front to accept a certificate for being a football player, the first time that's ever happened at SCHS.

Well done, Sarah, as usual--and now she's eagerly looking forward to next year's season and seeing what she can do in JV, if she can stay off the medical list. But first...lacrosse!

Saturday, August 8, 2015

There's Something Different About This Year's Squad...

See if you can spot the difference in this year's South County Stallions football team:
One of these players is not like the others...
In May, on the heels of her debut in girls' lacrosse, Sarah announced that she wanted to go out for freshman football this year. While you can hardly imagine our surprise, we've been just thrilled to be able to support her making a run at it. So she went to mini-camp in June (picture above), and has been spending time in the weight room with the boys getting ready for the season. And now that it's August, she's been at practice at 6:30am each morning, learning how to play the game she's always enjoyed on TV.

For the present, she's training at cornerback; she likes the idea of being able to put the smack on someone without being the one to wonder when she'll get hit. And she's breaking all sorts of stereotypes. We *think* she's the first girl in the 10-year history of South County HS to play football. And one day after the mini-camp, the varsity head coach came up to her while she was talking with the freshman head coach, and said, "I hear we've found our kicker!" Sarah demurred, saying No, actually, I think Andrew wanted to be kicker. The freshman coach jumped in and said, "Oh, no, she's a DB. She's aggressive!"

I can't tell you how incredibly proud we are of her, for having the courage to break the mold and be the first girl at South County to play football. She's learning a lot--both about the game, and about what it's like for-reals on a football team (i.e., "they're rude," as she observed). But all the more, whether she becomes a starter or, like her brother, scarcely sees action all season, she'll have learned how to live out her convictions. She'll also put the world on notice that you can try to put this Baby in a corner, but she'll just take off your knees for trying.

Here's a video of the no-tackling walk-through the team did this morning, with Sarah at left corner, wearing blue. And here's the link to the 2015 Stallions freshman football schedule…come out and see her make history!

Tuesday, June 16, 2015

Silver Award For Troop 2349

Sarah's Girl Scout troop, Troop 2349, completed their Silver Award requirements this year. For those not familiar with it, the Silver Award is the second-highest in Girl Scouting, and among other things, requires to girls to devote hours to a community service project.

For their Silver Award, the girls of Troop 2349 elected to knit warm winter hats for homeless and less-well-off people in Fairfax County. Each girl committed to knitting at least ten hats. Then this spring, the local council held its Precious Metals ceremony at which it recognized all the girls in all the troops who had earned the Bronze, Silver, and Gold Awards. Here is the video of Troop 2349 accepting their award and describing their work.


The girls have now crossed over into being Senior Girl Scouts, and for their Gold Awards, have to come up with new projects. The Gold Award, the highest in Girl Scouting, will require Sarah to come up with a project, develop and plan, obtain resources, and recruit others into helping her. She has a few ideas already...it will be fun to see which she chooses and works on in the next couple of years!

Here's our Silver Awardee, note the new pin next to the blue tab on her vest! Congratulations Sarah!

Monday, June 15, 2015

The Eight-Ball

This past Friday night was the eighth-grade dance, known to all at South County Middle School as the "Eight-Ball," which I always thought was a very clever name for it, having once been an eighth-grade boy at a dance and feeling very, very much behind the eight-ball when it came right down to it.

Here are some pictures of our Sarah and her friends getting ready for the dance.
Our beautiful young lady descending the stairs. Sharp eyes will note the broken finger on the left hand...
Saying goodbye to Fergie, who, on the whole, really wasn't impressed.
Preparing to board her coach for the ball. Note the footwear: in her words, "I'm going to dance, and I'm going to be comfortable." She commented afterward that within 15 minutes, there was a huge pile of heels by the side of the cafeteria, and there she was, still comfy.

Before the ball, one of Sarah's friends hosted a pre-party for everyone; there were over 20 kids there getting ready for the night.

Sarah and a few of her closest friends before the ball.
The ladies of SCMS eighth grade before the ball.
I'd like to report that she had a beautiful time at the ball, but she and her friends lasted all of an hour there before returning to the house of the pre-party. Reports are that the dance was in the cafeteria, with the full lights up brightly, and the DJ playing goofy music like the "Dora the Explorer" theme and the Chicken Dance. Not at all what a sophisticated group of young ladies wished to have for their evening. And as there were no sightings of any princes along with my princess, well, I'm fine with that too. But somehow I don't think this will be the last set of pictures like this in the next four years, as our young lady continues to grow and blossom.

Monday, January 19, 2015

Christmas 2014

Finally, I've pulled together some of the pictures from Christmas 2014 and set them in this album. Click and see how our holidays looked!

This was a different Christmas: for the first time in 16 years, we were able to sleep in past 6 am! The kids were completely teenagers this year; Mary and I woke around 8 and had not been nudged at all from them. Sarah was up next, then she awoke David, who sleepily came down to empty his stocking. Ah, the Christmases of yesteryear are ending.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Our Family Portrait

I've had several comments on the family portraits used in this year's Christmas card and letter.

They were part of a series of pictures that we did in October with my brother-from-another-mother, Glenn Cook, who's set himself up as quite the professional photographer in the last couple of years. I mean, if he can get David to smile…  If you're interested in seeing the whole shoot--and, if you didn't like one we gave you for Christmas, you can even order prints of other photos--then click here and visit the SmugMug site to check them all out.

Friday, December 5, 2014

Merry Christmas 2014!

Instead of making copies of our Christmas letter this year and mailing them all, or creating a new site to capture the year, we're listing here some of the highlights so you can get caught up, and dive in more where you like, to learn more about our year.
courtesy Glenn Cook Photography

Our year involved tearing out the master bathroom for a major renovation, but six weeks later it looked better than we had imagined it could. Up next: the kitchen? The kids' bathroom? Our annual ski trip with the Scouts to Canaan Valley was in February, and then in August we flew out West, the kids' first visit someplace west of West Virginia, for a very full experience of Nevada, California and a little of Oregon. We also had a nice weekend in a cabin at Deep Creek Lake in October with our Fergie, who passed a set of milestones this year. Not only was it her first "puppiversary," or a year after we got her, but in June came the time when (we estimate) she had spent more of her life with us than before--I guess that means she's found her Forever Home. She turned three in October, and kept wryly amusing us with her antics throughout the year. Our puppums is a happy doggie and has attached herself quite firmly to Mary lately.

If you look up the address for South County Middle School in the Fairfax County tax records, you will see that yes, in fact, Sarah *does* own the school. She's having a wonderful time as an eighth grader in Advanced Academics, as a Peer Helper at school, playing guitar, doing Girls on Track, and (most recently) being elected the school's Vice President. She rejoined Girl Scouts with her friends, with whom she is surrounded most of her free time. In the summer she had her second mission trip with Jeremiah Project, which she really enjoyed and which has her thinking of going as a counsellor someday.

The theme for the year with David was "adolescence," the one-foot-in-one-foot-out nature of being a high school junior. He earned his driver's permit this year, and is making slow progress in learning to drive--it's just not a huge priority for him to do, which baffles his parents. His burgeoning leadership was recognized in the winter when his Scout troop elected him its Senior Patrol Leader, and he took the first  (quite halting) steps into the world of girls and dating. But by far, his biggest adventures were a weeklong mission trip to Costa Rica in the summer, and beginning the great college hunt--with visits to William and Mary (two stories to tell there), Berkeley, U of Arizona, and his current #1 choice, Arizona State. Where will he end up? Tune in next year!

Mary celebrated her tenth anniversary with American Bankruptcy Institute this year, and accompanied Sarah on her Girl Scout troop's visit to New York City in the fall. Eric remains in Finance Division at the FBI, although at the end of the year is beginning a six-month rotation to work temporarily in Procurement instead of Budget, a new adventure. In the summer, he had a much-appreciated chance to spend a week at Harvard Business School, and is pursuing continuing ed into the new year. He's also still drumming, with Refresh at Sydenstricker UMC as well as with LifeSign at Burke UMC, loving every minute. This year he also began serving as the Chaplain of Boy Scout Troop 688, and will have a chance next summer to take a long walk in the desert with David--they both will be part of a dozen-strong crew hiking Philmont.

As 2014 fades, we hope it's been a good year for you and your family, and we pray for the light of the season to guide you throughout the new year. Join us here throughout 2015 for more of our adventures, and be sure to share your own--and stay in touch! We very much enjoyed the visits we had this year from Courtney, Naomi, Monica, Mom & Dad Tarrier, and many others…come back again!

Merry Christmas and Happy 2015 from us all!


Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Youth Missions 2014

Erin, the youth ministries director at our church, has created a blog to track the adventures of our two sets of youth missions this summer.  Be sure to follow Never Too Young, where she's going to chronicle the kids' adventures at Jeremiah Project near Winchester, VA (including Sarah's adventures there), and then at Strong Missions in Costa Rica (for which David leaves Sunday morning).  The kids are doing great things as Christ's hands and feet, it's heartwarming to see them in action!

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Off To A Solid Start

Congratulations to Sarah, who finished seventh grade with a great, strong kick: for her first time ever, her quarter report card was "straight As"!  (Her previous close call was Q3 of fifth grade; the only "B" then was in music.  Music!  Come ON!)

After a rocky start to the year in Algebra I and science, Sarah really buckled down and worked tremendously hard in order to improve her grades, and her hard work was justly rewarded with her first set of straight As this quarter.  In fact, only a "B+" in science kept her from straight As in final year-end grades as well.
Sarah with her Q3 Honor Roll certificate: a proud, accomplished scholar!

Sarah has really blossomed this year; seventh grade was a great experience for her.  And scarily enough, her A- final grade, and Pass Advanced on her SOL, in Algebra I Honors means she starts 8th grade with one of her requirements for high school graduation already neatly in the bag, and (with the bump for taking an honors class) she starts 8th grade with a 4.2 GPA…yes, higher than Dad's, although Dad will quickly point out South Burlington didn't offer bonus points for honors or AP classes.

This…is an amazing Sarah.  She works so very hard at schoolwork, and is reaping the benefits now.  She'll be able to write her own ticket to so many great adventures as a result, and it'll be a pleasure watching to see where those adventures take her.  For now, though, we give her warm congratulations, and hugs from a proud Mom and Dad, on her excellent 7th grade year.

Sunday, May 18, 2014

The Running Girl, May 2014 Edition

Once again, Sarah's interest in cross-country running has led her to the Girls on the Run program--now known at the middle school as Girls On Track, even though they don't do track events and still train for a 5K.  This morning was the spring 5K, after a season of training, and as you can see she was very excited about the day!
Sarah at Girls on the Run
This year, GOTR came to its senses and split the event across two days in two locations--meaning we no longer had the same huge crowds and parking problems, making it a much more enjoyable event.  Sarah also benefited from the thinner crowds, running her best race ever!

When the results were posted, Sarah completed her 5K in 30:41, her fastest time ever--and slightly annoying to her, as she really expected to be sub-30 this time.  However, her time was good enough for her to finish #138 out of 1,971 runners (top 7% of all runners); among her age group (girls 10-14), she finished #44 out of 493 girls (top 9%).  What an outstanding run!

This year, being all old and stuff, Sarah didn't need her daddy to be a buddy runner anymore; she ran with friends from SCMS.  However, that meant for the first time Eric and Mary had the chance to get a cup of coffee while she ran, and then be there at the finish line to see her cross.  This time we got video of the big finish:

Sarah's already announced that when she gets to the high school, she wants to go out for cross-country.  Maybe that means Daddy will have to start training to be able to keep up with her.  In the meantime, she's a huge winner to us for completing her seventh 5K and doing so well.  Congratulations, Sarah, on a tremendous race and great improvement!

Tuesday, February 25, 2014

Canaan Valley 2014

This past weekend was the annual Troop 688 family ski trip to Canaan Valley, WV.  After all the snow and cold here this winter, I was really looking forward to this: then it became 60 degrees for the few days ahead of the trip.  My timing just stinks sometimes.

The drive up went well; leaving after school meant we got there around 8 and had time to relax.  David used his evening to connect with some friends and go ice skating, demonstrating what the concept of "awkward" looks like:


Saturday was skiing for David; we hardly saw him at all all day.  Sarah took a lesson again on the snowboard, and while she did that I got in a few runs on the "loose granular" (read: icy) trails.  Then she and I spent the afternoon together on the training slope, rehearsing what she'd learned.  As you may recall, last year Sarah also had snowboarding lessons, then wiped out in the afternoon.  Not so this year!  Instead, she did really, really well, and didn't push herself beyond her comfort zone.  See how well she boards this slope:



David only has two more years to go as a Scout on these weekends, and despite the 52-degree weather I don't think he'd trade it for anything.  Sarah's still circumspect: enjoyed getting back on the horse again and doing well with the snowboard, but I don't think she'll be clamoring for lessons apart from this annual exposure.  But at least we got to spend a weekend together, and even though I didn't get a lot of skiing in myself, for hanging with her, I wouldn't have it any other way.

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Christmas 2013

We've posted a set of pictures from our Christmas morning adventures; click here or on the link at right, and come see our holiday!


Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Our Family Ski Weekend

This past weekend, the four of us drove to wild, wonderful West Virginia to the annual Troop 688 ski weekend at Canaan Valley.  This was the first time that the ladies had joined David and me; Mary is not a skier and doesn't enjoy getting cold, and Sarah had not previously been interested, but this year announced she wanted to try to learn snowboarding.

Confidentially, I had low expectations for her snowboarding adventure; I thought that despite the 90-minute lesson, the repeated face-plants into the snow, and a little snow down the parka, would quickly turn her interest into tubing or just watching TV at the lodge.  How little credit I gave her!  Sarah gamely strapped into her snowboard, and I caught up with her at one point during her lesson, as she was maneuvering quite impressively.  After her lesson, over lunch she enthused about the experience; after lunch, she and I headed to the bunny trails and lift to ski/snowboard together.

During our first run together, she impressed with how long she was able to stay up before catching an edge and tumbling over; I managed to catch this particular run on video:
We then made a second run together, to the two bunny trails that make the long loop from the top of the bunny lift to the bottom.  Not only did she stay upright coming off the lift, but she completed the top leg of the trail without falling, and nearly made it to the bottom of the second without falling as well!  This with only one 90-minute lesson: color me impressed!

However, the next time wasn't as fortunate.  She elected to try the broad trail that runs directly underneath the bunny lift; it turned out to be a bit steeper than she had expected, and she lost control and fell nearly at the bottom, bruising her left knee and taking her out of snowboarding for the rest of the afternoon.  Before the weekend was over, though, she did say she thought she'd be back next year, and I certainly hope so, as it was a special time skiing with my daughter.

David, of course, continues skiing and trying to win races among his fellow Scouts.  Their favorite trail to do so winds from the top of the mountain to the bottom, and is called Timber Ridge.  Once, I tried to stay caught up with him on Sunday, and this was the result:
David is the skier principally in the frame, but several times his speed takes him far off or around his friend John on the snowboard; once, he soars up through a wooded cut-through onto the bottom part of a black-diamond trail, Gravity, that I finally mastered this weekend; he is next seen as the rocket shooting through the frame in a tuck, and well off into the distance for the final sprint to the finish.  By my rough back-of-the-envelope calculation, he's averaging about 18 mph on this run...not Olympic speed, but fast enough for his little 14-year-old heart to get a thrill.

Despite Sarah's injury we all enjoyed the weekend.  It's nice to get away as the four of us and to try new things, again continuing with the theme of 2013: there's gonna be some changes!